


All That's Left of Yesterday

by smack



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27363772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smack/pseuds/smack
Summary: Laurent sees a young girl while riding through a village two years after his ascension. Not more than 10, with strikingly familiar features.Auguste had said he was more interested in women, and that some policies in Vere were old fashioned. Laurent could not ever had imagined this.
Relationships: Damen/Laurent (Captive Prince)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 60





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Oops I did it again. I wrote like... half a thought and then decided to post it at my bedtime for S&G.
> 
> This is four paragraphs of things I wrote in one sitting. 
> 
> Enjoy.

The villagers tell him this border town is home to many women. Damen grins at him when he hears, unrepentant flirt that he is. 

"You're married, Damianos." Laurent says. He's teasing, but the villager looks up at him, worried. 

"Your Majesty," The man says, faintly and obviously concerned. "The entire village is made up of," The man hesitates, glancing at the woman behind him. He leans forward and whispers "Women of ill repute and their bastards." like the very worst of all curses. 

Laurent blinks. And blinks again. "The entire village?" He says. His voice is pitched lowly, personal to the man. The man nods and wrings his hands. 

"Sire, it would bring you ill fortune to visit." 

Damen snorts heavily. "They were hit with the earthquake, same as everyone else in this region. It seems the ill fortune has already happened." Laurent sits back in his saddle. 

Theoretically, he'd known there were social pariahs. Women who'd crossed the boundary of same sex dalliances. Men who'd obviously done the same. Obviously, it was easier to tell with one, than the other, when an ill begotten pregnancy befell some poor soul. But an entire village?

"I will be in the best of company." He tells the villager. No need for the man to spread rumors that he was courting fate. "I appreciate your loyalty to the crown." The villager nods and bows. He steps back and still looks worried. Laurent smiles at him and subtly motions Damen to continue on. 

* * *

They've been riding the countryside. Not quite aimlessly, but with no real route besides starting in Arles and ending in Ios. 

Laurent had wanted to visit the country he'd spent two honest years ruling with Damen. Had wanted to take their time, with and without their guards, to explore the areas in between the major towns and cities. 

The earthquake had happened suddenly, though the horses had noticed first. They'd been camping with their entourage in a field between Fortaine and Ravenel. Almost to the border of Delpha. Laurent had been hoping to reach Marlas before midday. The earthquake had hit, scaring man and beast, and lasting for many moments. None of the tents had quite survived the shake, destabilizing and collapsing. 

Damen had found it hilarious, laughing as they wormed their way out of their tent, naked. Laurent had spent the time cursing a storm, hoping that the campfires had been far enough away from the cloth. No casualties were had in the camp, and with very little fuss, the tents were remade.

They didn't see the fires until after they broke camp in the morning. A dark plume of smoke hung over the edge of a hill, appearing as they reached the crest. The village was no longer flaming, but the thatched roofs of several of the homes were gone. Others had escaped with mere singeing. The villagers were tired, dirty, and not expecting royalty to appear in front of them. 

The village speaker paid them respects and set them off, unwillingly as he'd been, toward the village just South. 

* * *

The woman who came to meet them at the edge of the village, was older than Laurent could safely guess. She was wizened and deceptively strong for her hunched frame. She was accompanied by a man of what looked to be Damen's age. She bowed, as did they. 

"Your Majesty." The woman said. She had a raspy voice, from age or affliction, Laurent couldn't tell. 

"Elder," He said respectfully. "We've come to help with reparations from the quake." He told her. She turned a knowing eye up to him and nodded. 

"We have survived the earthquake with no injuries, save our interrupted sleep." She said. She turned, waving off her helpers as one hands her a walking cane. "You are welcome to all we have, Your Majesty." 

Laurent is formulating a response that doesn't boil down to 'everything you have is less than we possess on our own' when a flash of movement slides into his vision. A girl, no more than 10, runs to the old woman. 

The girl is a mess. Covered from head to bare foot in mud and grass. "Grand-mere," The girl huffed. "Gael pushed me into the river! He wouldn't let me up until I promised to give him his shoes back!" She pointed at her bare feet and the old woman placed a hand on her hair. 

"Aurelie, you should not take them in the first place." She told the girl. The gentle affection in her voice made Damen smile. 

The girl looked up at the men on horseback behind her grandmother and her eyes widened. Laurent looked into a face that could have been lifted from his memories and his eyes widened too. 

* * *

"Laurent?" Damen was saying from two feet away. Laurent didn't care. The girl stared at him in shock for a moment before taking off the way she'd come. Laurent stared after her and felt his chest compressing painfully. "Laurent, are you alright?" Damen reached for his hand and Laurent tore his eyes away from the corner of a house she'd disappeared behind. 

"What?" he asked his worried husband. "I'm fine." 

The old woman was looking at him, calm and with a knowing look in her eye. "Your Majesty, if I may, I believe we might have a discussion." 

Laurent, still fielding the shock going through his mind, nodded and dismounted. He vaguely sees Damen doing the same, with his husband's face displaying a healthy dose of suspicion. 

The woman leads them to a rather large house towards what could be the middle of the village. "We keep the fosterlings here." She opened the door and the layout becomes clear in an instant. An orphanage. "Women with no prospects bring their children here. They come in as bastards, and leave as citizens." The woman is speaking to Damen, as Laurent is reeling. 

"The girl, Aurelie." Laurent is following, but Damen turns to him sharply. "She's-"

"An orphan, yes. Her mother brought her here nearly ten years ago, named her, then fell to sickness." The woman shook her head. "The girl has been here since. 

Damen is looking at him. The eyes of dawning understanding as the pieces fall into place. "You can't think-" he says. 

"She's Auguste's." Laurent says, no hesitation or doubt in his mind. "She's my niece, and a Princess of Vere."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Begrudgingly written because plot bunnies. (These are still a thing?)
> 
> One or maybe two more. Now that I've started.

Damen is the one to suggest staying a while as Laurent is mostly in shock, still. He manages to help direct the men into checking the horses, organizing a hunt, and gathering water, to lessen the burden of the small village. 

The woman, village elder in such that she seems to be the eldest if not officially appointed, takes them to her small home, at the back of the orphanage. Laurent can hear Damen gently questioning the woman, how the village fairs with so many children to look after, how they get supplies when they're supposedly cursed with bastards. Laurent is sure Damen is kind and gentle, befitting the King of Ios and Consort of Artes. Damen has always had a way with women, from child to elder. 

Laurent is trying not to break down. 

"How old is she?" Laurent says. He's interrupting Damen, but his husband gives him a patient look and turns to the woman. 

"Aurelie is as far as we can tell, just over ten, your majesty." The woman leans on her cane and Damen hurries to pull out a chair for her. 

"Her mother..." Laurent says, nodding in thanks to Damen who pulls another chair out for him. Damen's hand comes to rest on Laurent's shoulder, a comfort he appreciates. 

"Had given birth mere months before. She's buried under the willow not far from here. She never said who the child's father was, but I had the honor of working for a time in Arles." The woman taps the end of her cane. "I had a thought, as Aurelie grew into her features." She peers at Laurent. "I would have sent a message to your Majesties, had I known it would be received with glad tidings." Her face is mild. "Under the rule of the Regent," She stops and taps her cane again. "Aurelie has had as happy a childhood as I could have given her. Many women who decide to stay with their get enjoy her company." 

"I-" Laurent's throat is dry. His breath is scraping in his chest and he's not sure he's ever felt this off balance. "We-" He looks at Damen. They share a conversation with their eyes, something easy from Laurent's end, as Damen holds his heart in the forefront of his expressions. Damen is emotional. Nervous, apprehensive. Excited and hoping Laurent is too. 

Laurent is too. As well as shocked, warring with the internalized distrust of bastards in his culture. He wants to meet this girl, his last remaining blood relative. He wants Damen to charm her into a smile. See if it's anything like Auguste's. He isn't sure what to do from there. 

"Madam." Damen says. "I believe my husband and I must take a moment to ourselves. Please excuse us a moment." 

Laurent is standing and he's not sure when that happened. He supposes it helps to think, literally, on his feet, in instances where he must think fast. Damen wraps the arm around his shoulder and gently tugs him to the door. 

"Is she happy here?" Twisting away from Damen's grasp seconds before opening the door, Laurent turns to the woman. "Could she be happy-" The woman is looking at his soul, into the heart of all his thoughts and fears. 

"Children are resilient, Your Majesty. They can be happy, as long as they have love and room to be." Laurent nods, and pushes past Damen through the door and into the midday sun. 

* * *

The village elder woman had spoken to Damen, after Laurent's hunted exit. Damen tells him much later, that it was mostly about the future. When Damen finds him a few minutes after leaving her company, all he says is, "She won't stop us if we decide to take her with us." 

An elderly feeble woman, stop the Kings of Arles and Ios from taking one bastard child, Laurent had thought. He's disgusted with himself for a moment after that. Aurelie is royal in blood, and nothing else matters. She has to come with them, doesn't she? 

Damen rests his hand on Laurent's back. "Laurent, we could take her with us. She could come live with us in Ios," He pauses and continues firmly. "or in Artes. We can change the laws, change the customs. What good is being King if we don't use it to make lives better?" 

Laurent is crying and he feels the tears slide down his face. "Auguste always hated those laws. They probably would have been the first thing he'd have changed as King." he scrubs his hands over his face. "But can we take her from her family?" He gestures out at the village. 

Damen pauses. "We could leave her here." He says softly. "You would always long for her. For the part of Auguste in her. But we could leave her to age and grow and become a normal person. You would always know that some part of Auguste lives on." He steps closer and enfolds Laurent into his arms. "This is your decision to make." 

Laurent turns into him and settles his nose along Damen's throat. "Our decision." He says. 

The villagers, children and adults alike, are thrown by the entourage resting in the nearby field, so Damen sends them on to Marlas. He keeps the small retinue that always accompanies himself and Laurent and they set up a much smaller camp just outside the village. The adults are still unsure, mostly women and young adults who know that soldiers are not often the most well behaved of society. The children of the village are fascinated. 

The younger ones want to meet the horses and pack animals. The village, Laurent learns, has two cows, a handful of chicken, and one goat. The older ones want to see the shiny swords and outfits. Laurent and Damen's men act admirably, for not having much experience with children. 

Aurelie and the vengeful Gael do not make an appearance, and Laurent's stomach aches. Damen is chatting with some of the youths on the cusp of adulthood when Laurent's gaze is once again caught by a glimpse of movement. He doesn't turn to look, using the corner of his eye to spot the now cleaned golden hair. 

She watches him for a long moment before she's pushed forcefully from behind the house. Her arm swings, and with a smack lands, at the pusher and she turns doe like eyes on Laurent.

She makes an awkward curtsey bob when he turns slowly to look at her. 

Hello, he wants to say. His mouth and lips are not cooperating. It's Auguste's chin and the corner of his mouth and- 

"Hello." Damen says from beside him. Laurent lets out a breath. 

"Hello, Majesty." The girl says. She bobs again and Damen smiles beautifully at her. Laurent can focus on Damen. "I'm s'pposed to say sorry for interrupting earlier." She says quickly. A hissing whisper comes from around the corner and she scowls back at the sound. "Gael says you're here because of the earthquake?" 

Damen waits a beat for Laurent to answer, but Laurent is focusing on his husband's long lashes and the hint of shadow around his mouth. "We were passing through when it happened. We just wanted to make sure everyone was alright." He's smiling at Aurelie and Laurent wonders if she's smiling back. He can't turn his head. "I see you've received shoes, since this morning?" He's laughing, a wonderful look on his wonderful face. 

"I have, Majesty." She sticks out her foot, showing a worn pair of slippers. 

"And I assume Gael got his back?" Damen cranes his head, as if he can see whomever is on the other side of the house. Aurelie must motion for Gael, because there's a shuffling sound and Damen nods his head. He turns to look at Laurent again and smiles, softly. He reaches for Laurent's hand and rubs a thumb over the knuckles. "Laurent, this is Gael." he says, as if Laurent had been politely invested in the conversation. 

Laurent turns mechanically to look at the children and nods. Aurelie seems to be glowing at the attention from an adult. Gael is a scrawny lanky boy older and taller than Aurelie by just a bit. He stands tall next to her, holding her hand. 

Her friend. Could Laurent take her from her home? She's his kin, his only remaining family, can he take her from everything she knows?

* * *

Apparently he manages a few polite words before Damen is leading him over to their tent. The light has faded from the sky, a whole day passing in this tiny village. A whole day for him to ruminate on the idea that his brother had a child, a daughter. 

"She's wonderful." Laurent says to Damen as they lay in bed. Damen, drifting off to sleep after helping Laurent plait his hair, shifts. 

"She is." He looks at Laurent. "Have you made a decision?" He asks quietly. Laurent doesn't answer and they sleep in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They reach Marlas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the suggestion that Gael accompanies. This may become plot relevant? (Who are we kidding. there is no real plot, besides 'they all live happily ever after and become the best family ever)
> 
> Also, further child interaction that hopefully doesn't seem forced or condescending... I have a 3 yo niece and I don't live in the same state as her... this is my full experience with children.

They take the girl to Marlas. 

The things she calls her own pack up neatly into one saddlebag on the back of a pack horse. She doesn't come alone. 

She sits behind Laurent, and doesn't cry. Gael sits behind Damen and his eyes are as large as an owl's. It had been a long morning of talking to the elder woman, explaining to Aurelie that she'd be leaving, assuring her that Gael wouldn't leave her if he wanted to come and Laurent's heart beating in terror. 

What did he know of raising a child, let alone two? The children he knew and grew up with in the trap that had been Arles were no more children than he was at that age. This girl, still young and carefree, didn't want to leave her friends, her Gran-mere, the only family she knew. 

She was the only family he had left. Damen had seen it on his face as they woke to the sounds of their men stirring. 

He'd smiled, happy and wistful at once. "I'll tell the men to pack everything up." 

"We'll need to organize provisions for this place." Laurent had said. "They must never want for anything as long as they continue to help those the people of Vere would hide." 

The girl's crying begins as they crest the hill that blocks the sight of Marlas and the surrounding plains. Laurent's heart is cracking with each silent sob Aurelie chokes on. Damen, Gael hanging off the side, is riding beside them and trying to cajole the girl into seeing their surroundings. 

"You'll each have your own rooms, people to spend time with. We will go to Ios and I'll show you all the best places in the palace." Damen is saying. Aurelie's arms are around Laurent's waist for balance, but he's not sure she'd be touching him if it weren't her first time on a horse. Marlas looms over them the closer they get, and Laurent suddenly wishes they'd not come to the place that most reminds him of Auguste's death. 

Damianos, whose memories of this place are also mixed, turns to Laurent in concern. "Do you want to-" He says and Laurent glares at him.

"Marlas is the closest fort. We will stop here for the night and move on in the morning." Laurent urges his horse into a faster trot and feels wretched when the young girl at his back clings closer to him. 

"I'm sorry, Aurelie." He murmurs to her. She hiccups at him and sighs into the back of his shirt. "I know this is terrible, and confusing." He says. It's inadequate to her feelings, but he can't express his sorrow more. Not without breaking down next to her. "When we get to the keep, we will all sit and talk and find out how best to move forward." 

* * *

The gates seem to shock Aurelie into silence, finally. They are large and well kept. Bigger than anything she's seen up close. Laurent looks past them to the soldiers they'd sent on the day before. The men are arranged in neat lines to welcome Royalty to the fort. 

Nikandros sits on the steps waiting for their approach. He stands at attention when they are close enough and makes his salute. 

"Your Majesties." He says. He eyes the girl behind Laurent. "And your Highness." Laurent nods. The rumor mill is working full time he sees. 

"This is Aurelie and Gael. This is Nikandros, Kyros of Ios." Laurent offers his arm for Aurelie as Damen comes around to help her dismount. She stands next to him and hardly reaches his ribcage. Gael scuttles over from where he'd been petting the horse and grabs her hand. Her bright eyes look at her friend with more feeling than she'd looked at Laurent and he knows that's normal. She's known the boy probably their whole lives. Laurent turns away. 

"Nikandros, what are you doing in Delpha?" Damen asks grinning. 

Nikandros is still looking in bemusement at Aurelie, who is quickly becoming shy and uncomfortable, and Gael, who is still turning his head as though nothing has ever been so fascinating. The big man pulls his gaze to Damen. "I am here to greet you, your majesty." He says with a half grin back. "And see what your journey has gotten you." He turns his look on Laurent. "Apparently it has gotten you more than just the peace you expected." 

Laurent likes Nikandros, for a loose definition of the word. The kyros is loyal and brave and willing to lay his life down for Damen. All good qualities, if you asked Laurent. He is not, to Laurent's anguish, subtle. He lays a kind hand on Aurelie's shoulder, "Don't mind Nikandros." He tells the girl. She looks at him and every time it's all he can do to not have the wind knocked out of him. "He's nicer than he seems." Laurent turns his flat gaze to Nikandros, "And not half as dim." 

Gael giggles a bit and Laurent smiles down at him. Aurelie smiles at her brother, and Laurent's heart flies. She stops when she sees him looking, but her face isn't quite so sorrowful. 

"Yes, of course, your Majesty." Nikandros says. He's showing more deference now than he has ever. Laurent squints at him. Nikandros' shoulders appear to be twitching, the corners of his mouth do the same. Ah, he's being laughed at.

"Nikandros," Laurent says, and Damen slips a quick smirk his way at the tone. "Would you please see to it that all the possessions get to the correct rooms?" He turns to the children at his side. "Nikandros will take your things into the keep. Would you like to explore the gardens, or are you ready for midday meal?" Nikandros is grumbling over his shoulder, something about being treated like a common servant. Laurent ignores him. 

Aurelie looks at Gael, leaning forward and bringing her hand to whisper in his ear. Laurent turns to Gael when the boy scuffs his shoe in the rocks. "Aurelie wants to go see the garden, but I'm hungry." Damen looks at Laurent over the children's heads. 

"That works perfectly. I could eat a bear." Damen says. He rests a hand on Gael's shoulder. "Would you like to come find the kitchens with me? If those two are quick, they might get some of the leftovers?" 

Aurelie pales and her grip on Gael tightens. "Leftovers?" the boy says quietly. Damen realizes his mistake. 

"Ah, no. I was just... There is enough food, in this fortress, to feed everyone. No one needs to worry about food here." 

Laurent eases into a crouch. "I would be honored to escort you to the gardens, if you'd like to see them. And if we do, there will be food waiting for us." Aurelie looks at him and then at her hand in Gael's. "We can see the gardens a little later, if you'd rather go with Damen and Gael." The back of his neck is heating from being seen acting so... soft, in front of the men at his command and Nikandros, who is mostly Damen's in everything but title. 

"We can go with them?" 

"Or we could go see the stables?" Laurent says, quickly thinking over everything a ten year old child would want to do at the Fortress of Marlas. "The kennels? I believe the falconer still keeps a few birds in the mews. We could walk along the wall?" Damen's eyes stop him when he looks at his husband for inspiration. Damen shakes his head subtly and tilts his chin at Aurelie. 

The girl looks like a nervous wreck. Too many things, too many new places and Gran-Mere had said children were resilient, but perhaps he should take a breath on the first day she'd been taken from her village. He breathes in and out a few times, watching Aurelie's pale face scrunch. "We can do any of that, at any time. But if you'd like to go sit with Damen and Gael and have midday, we can do that first." Laurent says, softly. He knew nothing about children, and here he was, making things difficult on his brother's child. 

Aurelie finally nods and latches both hands to the one Gael had grabbed her with. "Eat first." She says. Her voice is nothing like the girl in the village. It's too soft, too shy, too overwhelmed by the new things thrust upon her with no decision from her. 

Damen offers Gael his other hand and Laurent walks behind them as they enter the keep.

**Author's Note:**

> I... Might be posting something else... soon? 
> 
> I really just want to put all my ideas into a post and hope that someone can use them? Is that weird?


End file.
